


i saw you this morning (i thought that you might like to know)

by blanchtt



Series: because of you i know where i belong [1]
Category: Thelma (2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Post-Canon, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-12
Updated: 2017-12-12
Packaged: 2019-02-13 17:19:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,099
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12988764
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blanchtt/pseuds/blanchtt
Summary: She walks towards the train station, mind unclouded, heart light, phone buzzing in her pocket.





	i saw you this morning (i thought that you might like to know)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

She walks towards the train station, mind unclouded, heart light, phone buzzing in her pocket.

 

The wind is sharp and promises rain, and Thelma breathes deeply, reaches into her jacket, takes her phone, and holds it, lets it sit in her hand and vibrate as she walks.

  


 

**3:14 PM**

I'll call you back soon  

_Delivered_

  
  
  


 

 

 

-

  
  
  


 

 

 

She takes the train and then the bus to Hellersmo Hospital, makes it there and into the lobby before visiting hours are over, follows the nurse to her grandmother's room, nods a thank you as the woman leaves her at the door with a warning about closing at five o'clock.

 

Alone, silence falling over them, Thelma slips into the room, feels her stomach twist to see her grandmother in the same state as last time, down to her position - on her back, mouth slack, eyes unseeing.

 

Thelma steps forward, reaches out again, and this time is not rebuffed.

 

“I’m going to talk to them,” Thelma whispers, and curls her fingers around her grandmother's gently. “Don’t worry.”

 

On her way out, she stops once more in the lobby, takes a seat, and takes a notebook and pen from out of her backpack, rips out a page, and begins to write.

 

She leaves the letter on the front desk, and leaves.

  
  
  


 

 

 

-

  
  
  


 

 

 

She wakes to find Anja running fingers lightly through her hair.

 

She considers burying her face back against Anja, but Anja says, "It’s almost eleven," a hint of laughter in her voice, and Thelma sits up, quits her place against Anja’s shoulder.

 

"Sorry," she says, and it comes out sounding far groggier than she intends, voice thick as she rubs sleep from her eyes.

 

She watches Anja follow, the way she draws her knees towards herself and sits with her arms around her legs. Her lankiness is only more apparent like that, and Thelma smiles as Anja shakes her head. 

 

"Don’t be."

 

It’s said so sincerely that Thelma wants nothing more than to lean forward, to kiss her in happiness and gratitude. But her phone is on silent, a wise move made last night, and there is no class today. They are alone, and Thelma swallows, knows it has to be done and that Anja is owed any answer she can give her.

 

“When I was litte,” Thelma starts, and tells Anja all she knows.

  
  
  


 

 

 

-

  
  
  


 

 

 

She sets aside her schoolwork and takes the train again on a Saturday morning.

 

“How did you live so long with it?” Thelma asks. Unspoken:  _without hurting anyone_.

 

She sits in a chair by the window, rain pattering outside, and watches her grandmother. She’s sitting up, propped by pillows, weak but lucid, eyes focused. The nurse had mentioned phsyical therapy, for muscles wasted in years of stupor, and Thelma had agreed. But one step at a time.

 

It’s odd to ask someone - a stranger -  _this_. But the softness in her grandmother's eyes holds something just for her.

 

"Accept it."

  
  
  


 

 

 

-

  
  
  


 

 

 

**11:49AM**

Lunch in the cafeteria?

_Delivered_

  


**11:49AM**

Yes, please

See you there

_Delivered_

  
  
  


 

 

 

-

  
  
  


 

 

 

Her apartment, no matter how small, had managed to seem always like a hollow excuse for a home - empty, impersonal, and amplifying the fact that _you are alone alone alone._

 

Anja’s apartment is cramped, bright, loud - music blares from the speakers, enough so that someone is sure to come pounding on their door at some point, and it is warm from the the heater, their bodies, the kitchen. Photos, albums, knickknacks cover the available surfaces. Their backpacks lie forgotten in the hallway, dropped there upon returning home, more exciting things in mind on a Friday than homework.

 

Thelma scrubs at a dish, scrapes off a piece of _something_ , and hands it to Anja, who dries it with a flick of a damp dishtowel before putting it away. Thelma can only shake her head, wonders how many half-dried dishes Anja has dropped.

 

_Two plates, a bowl, and three cups, Anja had told her, once._

 

Full and sleepy, it’s the most natural thing in the world to slip off her jeans, to lose her bra, to curl up next to Anja on the couch, to hold hands and fall asleep watching television.

  
  
  


 

 

 

-

  
  
  


 

 

 

She schedules the appointment for Thursday, an afternoon session after a morning of classes.

  
  
"Hello."

 

"Thelma. It's so good to see you."

 

The room is warm, brightly lit, and Thelma settles on the couch opposite Hanne - she’d asked her to call her by her name when they’d first started meeting, and Thelma offers her a smile.

 

Hanne smiles back, warm and open, and clasps her hands in her lap calmly.

 

“What would you like to talk about today?”

  
  
  


 

 

 

-

  
  
  


 

 

 

**1:43 PM**

Good luck today, babe

You can do it

_Delivered_

 

**1:43PM**

Thank you

I'll call you after

_Delivered_

 

**1:44PM**

<3

_Delivered_

  
  
  


 

 

 

-

  
  
  


 

 

 

She walks into the hall, takes the exam from the proctor, and takes her seat, back row center.

 

After hours and hours pouring over notes and books, after nights spent memorizing equations and tables, after catching up on all she’s missed, the exam is a breeze. No trembling mars her penmanship.

 

Stumped only once or twice, and only momentarily, she has only to think of Anja, a kiss for every correct response they’d worked through on their mock exams, and the answer comes.

  
  
  


 

 

 

-

  
  
  


 

 

 

Break and the holidays loom, and Thelma mails the card to her grandmother, wraps Anja’s present and hides it away - though it’s difficult to hide something in nine meters square.

 

It’s dark and snowing, made darker by the fact that they have only the bedside lamp on for light, but the look on Anja’s face is clear. Eyes dark, like Anja wants to eat her alive.

 

Thelma reaches, fingers circling light around Anja’s wrist, and urges her hand between her legs - Anja’s hands no longer rest passively on her waist, holding her close as they’d kiss - and Thelma shifts to give Anja space as Anja’s fingers tease, tugging aside the fabric of her underwear, brushing against her.

 

With the last of their exams over, tomorrow they take the train downtown to Oslo together, to spend Christmas and the new year with Anja’s mother. But for now, there is only her and Anja, Anja under her, shirts long gone and lips kissed slick and the two of them meeting in a way that Thelma feels like she has been waiting for forever. 

 

She doesn’t bother to swallow her moan as Anja’s fingers seek and find, and Thelma lets herself smile.

 

  
  
  


 

 

 

-

  
  
  


 

 

 

The dim glow of the bedside lamp holds steady, until they turn it off well past midnight to finally sleep.

  
  
  


 

 

 

 


End file.
